Apsulov: End of Gods | PS5 Review
Apsulov: End of Gods is a first-person survival horror game developed by Angry Demon Studio and published by Perp Games. It is currently available on Windows PC, PlayStation, XBox, and Nintendo Switch. For the purpose of my review I was playing on the PlayStation 5.
Humans have dug far beneath the Earth in search of the mercy of the gods. What they discovered down there was something that was never supposed to reach the surface and now this discovery begins to wreak havoc on the world, exploiting human technology and leaving nothing but misery, destruction and decay. It’s within this future that you, Alice, awake in a sanctuary that was built as a home to the research that was going on in Yggdrasil. You must survive the dangers that lurk in the depths and journey through a world riddled with both futuristic technology and mythological artifacts. However, above all, chaos rules over all, and it's in the midst of this chaos that you must find your purpose and destiny.
Norse mythology is a commonly used theme in many games; Assassin's Creed Valhalla and God of War instantly come to mind – however, never did I expect a horror game rooted in Norse mythology to exist. This alone really made Apsulov: End of Gods quite appealing to me in the sense that it was going to be a unique and interesting experience. Mostly, I wasn’t disappointed. I enjoyed the story a lot and it is fed to the player in dribs and drabs as you progress through. Lore was usually given through recordings spread across the various levels. A large part of the combat reminded me a lot of the Doom games. Then there were sections that just screamed out Alien Isolation to me as I was crawling through dark vents, and creeping through thick darkness.
As you explore through the game you’ll travel to the different worlds, all inspired by Mythology such as Nilfheim where you’ll find frozen ice giants who you must creep past, choosing the most opportune moment to avoid any conflict. I’m not a terribly stealthy person so I don’t really enjoy sneaking around in games, and I didn’t particularly enjoy the amount of time I spent lurking in dark vents, so very quickly these sections began to sap enjoyment for me from the game. However, the puzzle aspects, storyline, and the world building in general was excellent and I still managed to find enjoyment. It was just sad to see such excellent visuals and world building be diminished by so much darkness.
I really enjoyed this collision of worlds. Putting Apsulov: End of Gods into any specific genre is certainly a challenge as there are so many different elements at play. The narrative was excellent and presented well throughout and the environment in general was also excellent. Yes, it was a little bit dark and dreary in places and some elements felt a little bit stale, however I did manage to really enjoy my time exploring the dark depths of Yggdrasil. Despite my disliking for stealth in games, I still found a lot to love about it. I think at this point it's becoming quite hard to make a unique horror game that really treads its own path and doesn’t just rely on the usual cliche jumpscares and such. I feel that Apsulov: End of Gods managed to bring something unique to the genre and really gives us an experience that whilst it may feel familiar at some points, it's still unique in itself.
Lj’s Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
For more information on Apsulov: End of Gods please use the following links...
Angry Demon Studio - Developer | Facebook | Twitter | Website
Perp Games - Publisher | Facebook | Twitter | Website
Many thanks to Perp Games for the Review Key.
Apsulov: End of Gods | Windows PC | PlayStation | XBox | Nintendo
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